Fabio Capello was officially unveiled as the new England manager today and revealed that his dream fixture would be to meet Italy in the World Cup final in South Africa.

Capello, who has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract worth £6.5million a year, was described by FA chief executive Brian Barwick as a “world class” manager. He said the FA had employed a “winner with a capital W.”

Mr Barwick added: “If Fabio turns things around for the England team it will be seen as money well spent by the England fans.”

Capello, 61, a former boss of Real madrid, AC Milan and Roma, introduced himself to the media in English but answered questions in his native Italian. And he vowed that his first task would be to learn to speak English within a month.

“I am very proud to be England manager,” he said. “I have wanted this job for a long time.

"It's an honour to be the coach, and it's a dream come true. It's a job that everbody wants and everybody knows there are great expectations with the job and I will work to achieve these with the FA."

He will officially take up his duties on January 7 but will be studying hard every day before his first meeting with the England squad to ensure he can communicate with his players from the outset.

"I unofficially started work yesterday by watching Super Sunday (the televised games between Liverpool and Manchester United and Arsenal against Chelsea) but the official job will start on January 7. The main objective will be to meet the players and coaches of the English leagues. I am convinced this is a great team and can go right to the top," said Capello. “Wearing the England shirt should be a matter of pride. I want to see all the players play for England like they play for their clubs.”

He said the style of play would depend on which players were available to him but added that it was important to be flexible, too. He woulsd try to ensure the philosophy and mentality was right within the squad to get results.

“English football has a will to win,” he said. I just have to get it out of them.”

Capello would not be drawn over whether or not David Beckham would get his 100 th cap early next year and he acknowledged that the pair had a mixed relationship at real Madrid, where Capello dropped the “Galactico” player from the team for quite a long time. But Capello added: “Beckham demonstrated to be a great man and a great player. When he sets himself something, he will achieve it.”

"With David Beckham, the only thing you would wish for is that he was younger," said Capello. "Will he be part of my plans? You never know. I will have to make choices. I believe basically that Beckham's behaviour will be important.

"However, there is still over a month to the first game (a friendly against Switzerland on February 6) so there is plenty of time for these important decisions to be made."

Asked how he would feel when England had to play Italy, Capello revealed he would love to meet them - especially in the World Cup final in South Africa in 2010.

Earlier, FA chief Barwick praised his new appointment and said: "He has coached and won titles with AC Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid and Roma, he has man-managed some of the world's best players and he was also an international player of high repute himself. "This is a signifcant appointment and we are delighted with the response from the public and the media. We know we owe the fans and we believe Fabio Capello is the man to restore our pride."

Barwick insisted the decision to appoint Capello was unanimous and made no apologies for the speed of the recruitment.